MAC-10
The MAC-10 (Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially the M10) is a highly compact, blowback operated machine pistol developed by Gordon B. Ingram in 1964. Design The M-10 was built predominantly from steel stampings. A notched cocking handle protrudes from the top of the receiver, and by turning the handle 90° would lock the bolt, and act as an indicator that the weapon is unable to fire. The M-10 has a telescoping bolt, which wraps around the barrel. This allows a more compact weapon, and balances the weight of the weapon over the pistol grip where the magazine is located. The M-10 fires from an open bolt, and in addition, the light weight of the bolt results in a rapid rate of fire. The barrel is threaded to accept a suppressor, which worked by reducing the discharge's sound, without attempting to reduce the velocity of the bullet. At the suggestion of the United States Army, Ingram added a small bracket with a small strap beneath the muzzle to aid in controlling recoil during fully-automatic fire. Caliber and Variants While the original M-10 is chambered for the .45 ACP round, the M-10 is part of a series of machine pistols, the others being: the MAC-10/9 (chambered in 9 mm but otherwise identical to the .45 ACP version), the MAC-11 / M-11A1, which is a scaled down version of the M-10 chambered in .380 ACP; and the M-11/9, which is a modified version of the M-11 with a longer receiver chambered in 9 mm, later made by SWD (Sylvia and Wayne Daniel) and Leinad. In the United States, full automatic M-10 machineguns are NFA articles, and probably the least expensive (relative; Approximate cost as of Q1 2009 is $3,600 US) automatic weapons on the American market. A large number of incomplete sheet metal frame flats were given serial numbers before the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, and this made it possible to complete the manufacture of registered M-10s for the civilian market after the 1986 production freeze took effect. There were also a few thousand semi-automatic pistols and carbines that were based on the original M-10 design. These were made in open-bolt and later in closed-bolt designs, in response to ATF rule changes that banned semi-auto open bolt designs, beginning in the early 1980s. Masterpiece Arms manufactures a semi-automatic variant of the M-10 called the MPA-10. It differs from the original M-10 in firing from a closed bolt, as opposed to the open-bolt mechanism of the original M-10. This allows for more accuracy than open-bolt fire, and the extra cooling offered by open-bolt firing is unnecessary in a semiautomatic firearm. The MPA-10 comes in several versions, including a rifle-like variant with a 16" barrel, shoulder stock, and an AR-15 forearm. The stock model has 6" barrel (visually identical to the original MAC-10), a highly modified version which has the cocking handle on the side and has a scope mount on top is also available. One model has a 10" barrel and has an AR-15 style forearm. Another variant that is growing in popularity for NFA registered firearms are the slow fire uppers manufactured by Lage Manufacturing which are called "MAX" uppers. The company is based in Chandler, Arizona. The "MAX" upper can reduce the original rate of fire to about 600 RPM (.45 ACP) and 700 RPM (9x19mm). The upper adds a picatinny optic rail, a side cocking charging handle, and a forend. Lage Manufacturing and Practical Solutions are currently marketing a drop-in 22LR upper variant that uses a modified upper, 22LR barrel, bolt and magazine. Besides Military Armament Corporation, MAC-10s and MAC-10 parts have been produced by RPB Industries, Cobray Company, Jersey Arms Works, MasterPiece Arms, and Section Five Firearms. Category:Submachine gun